From a chance meeting in Patagonia in 1995 to an award-winning sustainable travel company, to a fridge magnet collection to be proud of, ours is a story like no other.
The Pura Aventura story starts way back in the Patagonian summer of 1995 and a chance meeting between an Englishman, a Spaniard and a Basque down in Chile's Torres del Paine...
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Having missed the boat across the lake one windy afternoon, Thomas Power (right) and his poncho sought refuge in one of the park's ranger stations, where he'd stumble upon a new friend...
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Waiting in the hut was Diego Martín, who divided his time here between guiding hikers in Paine, mucking in on friend's estancias and enjoying a few cold ones in the 'guide' bars of Puerto Natales...
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The pair hit it off and walked nearly every trail together. Diego soon introduced Thomas to another Paine guide Xabi Etxarri, completing our gang of three slightly ragtag and wind-battered amigos.
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Xabi would go on to write the manual which trains the new Torres del Paine park guides. Before that though, came the small matter of Pura Aventura and our very first brochure, created in 1999...
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The idea of Pura was to create 'active holidays in comfort' in the (then) remote places the trio had fallen in love with. Admittedly, southern Chile and northern Spain was a niche combination for the time...
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So whilst our intrepid trio weren't able to ditch their battered boots and pitiful ponchos just yet, the idea began to resonate with travellers looking to indulge their more adventurous sides.
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Even so, these were our 'donkey years' - a learning curve made all the steeper by a lack of business experience. It was the quality of the holidays and the loyalty of our clients that pulled us through.
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Eventually, our band of three began to grow. Before joining in 2006, Sarah's pesto sauce was unceremoniously spat out by the tasting chef on BBC's Masterchef, ending her quest for kitchen glory...
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Food's loss was our gain though. Sarah's eye for detail and ability to organise complex holidays directly with our local partners has been the bedrock for our successes over the last 15 years...
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Our team has travelled extensively to pioneer new ways of sharing our destinations. Here, Thomas becomes the '80th or so' person to visit this Atacama lagoon discovered by our guide on Google Maps.
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With more people travelling, we've also had to find creative ways to share popular places at their quietest. Arriving at Machu Picchu on foot with barely another soul around is one we're proud of.
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As well as travelling to develop new holidays, we're so lucky to be able to share the special places we love with our families. Watching our children confidentally exploring exotic places never gets old.
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Diego and María work out of our Spain office at the foot of the Picos de Europa hills. The WiFi is patchy, but the beach is close, the views fantastic and sometimes wandering cows come to say hello.
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Over the Atlantic, Camilo - or Mr Atacama as he is known for his extensive experience guiding in the north - heads up our Chile office with his trademark positivity and good humour.
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We can't be sure, but we doubt there's a duo who know the trails and villages of the Sacred Valley better than Pura Peru's Gabby and Pepe. In fact, many of the people you'll meet here are their close friends.
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One such person is Mercedes from the local chichería. Since her smile beamed from our stand at a London travel show in 2020 she's had the upper hand in a friendly fame rivalry with Nilda...
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Nilda's own smile shone from the cover of our Peru guide in 2019. Her fame might have been one-upped by Mercedes, but as the head of a brilliant female weaving co-operative, she's doing ok.
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We are constantly inspired by our partners from across the Pura world. In Ecuador, Rocío broke down barriers to become the first female guide in the region and wants others to follow in her footseps.
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And we're inspired by the widlife too. Diego spent many years volunteering with the Bearded Vulture Foundation in northern Spain, returning these majestic but endangered creatures to the skies.
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On the wildlife theme, we were honoured to host Richard Woollocombe - the man who filmed the famous Galapagos snakes and iguanas footage - to speak to our guests in 2018.
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And on the subject of speaking, Thomas took his place alongside industry experts to discuss ways to combat overtourism at the BBC Countryfile Live event at Blenheim Palace later that year.
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2019 saw us hit supermarket shelves in partnership with our friends at Cafédirect. Making a pot of their finest is often first point of order each day at the Pura Aventura office in Brighton.
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In 2019 we also created our first book. With tales of hitchhiking gauchos, Nicaraguan chicken buses and the last Picos cheesemakers, The Pothole celebrates all the we love about our world.
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We're very proud of our collection of wonderfully crap fridge magnets. It all started with this gloriously misspelled effort found by Greta in Brussels. It's gone from strength to strength since.
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Magnets aside, our proudest moment was hosting pioneering conservationist Kristine Tompkins for the official European launch of Chile's Route of Parks tourism project in London in 2019...
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As Kristine explained to BBC presenter Joe Crowley, by visiting the parks you help create the financial incentive for locals to protect vast swathes of Patagonian wilderness over the long-term.
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In September 2019 we celebrated our 20th anniversary by immortalising our three co-founders Thomas (plus dog), Diego (plus Bearded Vulture) and Xabi (plus poetry book) in cake topper form.
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In 2019 we began working with community development project Taking Root to fund economically viable tropical forest and balance all carbon produced on our holidays, not by 100%, but by 160%.
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In early 2020, before the world was turned on its head, Thomas introduced the Route of Parks and his beloved Patagonia to a packed audience at the Destinations tavel show in London.
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For all of us, 2020 was a year like no other. Through difficult times the support of our clients, past, present and future, was entirely humbling and a vital part of keeping our spirits up...
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Never before were our relationships with our partners, many of whom we consider close friends, so important. Whilst we couldn't get this close, we stood side-by-virtual-side through difficult moments.
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During the covid-19 pandemic, Pura Aventura was praised in the UK national press for our straightforward, no nonsense approach to customer service and financial protection.
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In 2020 we were far from idle. As well as creating the new website which you are reading and many new trips you might take, we became one of the UK's first travel companies to certify as B Corp.
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Ours has been a winding road with many a lesson learned. But our mission never changed: sharing the right places with the right people. This picture of a Pura client sums up the joy of doing just that.
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Our story
Pura Aventura has been connecting travellers with the most awe-inspiring places in Central & South America, Portugal, and Spain since 1999, upholding the highest standards of care for the places and people we visit.
Our story began with a chance meeting of a Brit, a Spaniard and a Basque in Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park. All three had been deeply moved by the kindness, generosity, and soul of the region and its people and felt inspired to keep the energy moving.
Pura Aventura was born with the vision of a kinder, more considered way to travel, sharing the most awe-inspiring yet often less-travelled places in a way that protects and benefits the environment and the people who live there.
Our direct relationships with our partners allow us to create truly exceptional experiences that simply cannot be found elsewhere.
Sharing a place is about brokering an introduction between our guests and partners, making each journey deeply personal. Our community includes our overseas partners and clients, many of whom have become friends.
Our work is driven by a debt of gratitude inspired by the kindness of strangers, the thrill of discovery, and the beauty of nature. We are values-driven, diverse, smart, and experienced. and we are proud to be a B Corp and co-founders of the influential Travel by B Corp movement.
Pura Aventura is dedicated to delivering exceptional value to our clients while caring for our team, partners, and planet.
